he would take the letter to the Horse Guards and proclaim that my husband and I and Colonel Brandon had been traitors together.'
Now I understood Brandon's outrage at Turner. I felt it myself.
She went on. 'I hurried to London and wrote to Aloysius. I was petrified. And he…' Her eyes sparkled with anger. 'At first Aloysius wanted nothing to do with me. He said bluntly that our affair was long ago, that he and his wife were happy, that I should cease to pester him. I was furious with him. He had as much to lose as I did.'
'I read the letters you wrote back to him. You declared that both your names would be revealed. I took it to mean that your love affair would be made public.'
'Aloysius finally agreed to help, though he was not best pleased about it. Turner wanted to meet us at the Gillises' ball, knowing that Colonel Brandon and his wife had been invited. So we made the appointment and brought him the money.'
'And then Brandon made a mare's nest of it.' I shook my head. 'I do not know why anyone would suppose Colonel Brandon could do anything covert. He got himself talked about, upset his wife, and was arrested for murder.'
To my surprise, Mrs. Harper smiled. 'I do not think he anticipated being arrested for murder, Captain. As for Aloysius being ham-handed, the result was that people only talked of us having an indiscreet affair. They did not guess the worst of it. Even you did not.'
She made a good point. 'I admit that I was sorely misdirected.'
Mrs. Harper studied her hands in her lap. 'I regret hurting Mrs. Brandon. She does not deserve this.'
'No, she does not.' I resumed my seat. 'Tell me exactly what happened at the ball. You might still believe that Colonel Brandon killed Turner to keep him quiet, but I do not. If he successfully obtained the letter from Turner, there was no need to murder him. Unless Turner had something more on you?'
Mrs. Harper shook her head. 'There was nothing else. Just that letter. And Aloysius said he'd made the exchange.'
'Tell me again what happened.'
'I want so much to forget what happened, and everyone wants me to remember.' She rubbed her forehead. 'It is true that Aloysius called too much attention to me-to us. But I feared Mr. Turner, and I did not want Aloysius to leave my side. Aloysius was angry at Mr. Turner, but also at me. Mr. Turner did offer to dance with me several times, but I knew that he simply wanted to talk alone with me. Aloysius chased him away.'
Lady Aline's version of events confirmed this. 'The meeting was set for eleven o'clock? In the anteroom?'
'Eleven, yes. Aloysius told me that I was not to go, although I wanted to see the letter for myself. But he was adamant, and I obeyed. He and Turner went into the anteroom together. No one followed. Not five minutes later, Aloysius emerged, rather red in the face, and Mr. Turner came out behind him. Aloysius took me to an alcove and told me that the deed was done.'
'Colonel Brandon provided the payment as well?'
'He insisted. I did not protest too much. While I am of comfortable means, I cannot part with five hundred guineas with impunity. Aloysius spoke of the sum as almost trivial.'
'Brandon has a large income. When he spoke to you in the alcove, did he show you the paper?'
'He refused. He told me he had it, and I was not to worry.'
'If it was in his handwriting, he'd be anxious to keep it,' I reflected. 'But Brandon did not have the letter when he was arrested. Do you have any idea what he did with it?'
'None. I was agitated, not surprisingly so. Aloysius told me that he would find me some sherry, and left me. I stayed in the alcove, trying to catch my breath. Then, when he was a long time coming, I decided to emerge. Others would wonder what I did there so long. I tried to behave normally and have a conversation with Lady Gillis, but I was too agitated. I decided to sit alone in the anteroom. But when I entered, I found Mr. Turner.'
'Dead.'
She shuddered. 'I thought him merely foxed, and I was angry at him, celebrating at our expense. But he sat too still, and then I realized that he was not breathing.'
'And you decided to search him for the bank draft.'
'Yes.'
'Why? To save Brandon a bit of blunt?'
'That was not all I thought. I did not think the draft should be found on a dead man. I did not want it to point to a connection between Mr. Turner and Aloysius.'
'It was a good thought, but Brandon's behavior did that for him. Well, I am back to not knowing what became of the paper. Brandon is most reticent to tell me.'
'He is ashamed.'
I snorted a laugh. 'He is afraid that I will use the knowledge against him. Well, Mrs. Harper, instead of clearing Brandon, I now have information that gives him still more of a motive. He killed Turner not to cover up an affair with you but to keep himself from being arrested for treason. Damn.'
Mrs. Harper looked at me limply. 'I am sorry.'
'Brandon is an idiot, which is not your fault. He never should have written that letter.'
'I know.'
'The only way I can save him is to discover who truly did murder Turner. Did you see anything that can help me?'
She shook her head. 'I was in the alcove. By the time I made my way to the anteroom, Turner was already dead.'
'You said his body was warm, so he could not have been dead long. Are you certain you saw no one leave the room before you entered it?'
'I did not.'
I imagined the small gilded room with its simple furnishing and scarlet walls. I remembered the opulent staircase hall and Basil Stokes complaining that one never saw the servants because they walked through back passages behind the walls.
Anyone who knew how to get into those passages could have slipped into the anteroom-if indeed, a door from the anteroom led to the passages. They need not have been seen in the ballroom at all. Brandon had been observed striding toward the back of the house, ostensibly in search of sherry.
Damn, and damn, and damn.
I rose to my feet. 'Mrs. Harper, I thank you for being frank with me. I am going to find that blasted paper if I have to tear apart London to do it. And I will clear Brandon, too. Please, if you remember anything else, any small detail that might be helpful, send me word.'
She promised to, but her face was wan, her eyes tired.
I left her with my card and my direction penned on it. Mrs. Harper said goodbye, her eyes quiet in defeat.
I knew she believed that if I had to betray her to save Brandon, I would. And, I thought as I left the house for the spring fog, she might not be wrong.
Lady Breckenridge had sent me a note via a servant that morning, telling me she'd procured an appointment for me with Lady Gillis. She'd instructed me to call at the South Audley Street house at three o'clock.
I had just enough time now to journey from Portman Square to South Audley Street, and I arrived on Lady Breckenridge's doorstep at three o'clock precisely.
Lady Breckenridge greeted me in a swirl of silk and cashmere and pressed a cool kiss to my cheek. 'You are amazingly punctual, Gabriel. Shall we go?'
I was pleased-first, that she had done this favor for me, and second, that she felt comfortable enough with me for a kiss as greeting, without awkwardness. I was pleased, too, to sit next to her in her carriage, and have her shoulder brush my arm with the carriage's movement.
I suddenly was sorry that Lord Breckenridge was dead, because I longed to shoot the man myself. I had, however, thoroughly bruised his face in an impromptu boxing match, and that would have to satisfy me.
Lady Breckenridge's small hand lay loosely in her lap, and I reached down and closed it in mine. 'You told me once that I resembled the late Lord Breckenridge,' I said.
